Easy reader versatile podium

ABSTRACT

Those skilled in the art may discover that various adaptations or modifications of this described preferred embodiment may be altered without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. Therefore, within the scope of these stated claims, this invention may be practiced other than as uniquely described herein.

[0001] References Cited U.S. Patent Documents December, 1977 Albertson5/482 September, 1992 Rudy 5/507.1

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention generally relates to podiums for the support ofbooks or other literature for the common reader or studier and, morespecifically, to such a device that can be used while lying in bed orsitting in a chair and can easily be collapsed into a small, compact,lightweight package for easy transit or storage. Many people tend toretire to their bed or easy chair to read before falling asleep. Otherslike students find the need to study in bed. Such an activity requiresthe continuous holding of reading material for long periods of time andcan be tiresome and very uncomfortable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] A typical podium provides a way to hold a speaker's readingmaterials. Generally, the podium stands upright in front of the speakerand has a slanted top surface that supports papers at a convenient anglefor the speaker to quickly glance at. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 320,319 toBrothers et al. illustrates a typical podium with an inclined supportsurface that holds books and papers at a convenient angle. Although thisdesign is useful, it suffers from a lack of versatility and can't befolded away to save space when not in use. Furthermore, none of thesepodiums are simple enough to use while lying in bed. A casual nightreader or student would have no means to support his literature whilelying down. He would therefore have to toss and turn to find acomfortable holding position for his reading material and would tend totire more quickly from doing so.

[0004] In addressing this problem, Rudy, U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,717provides a sleeve with an interior passageway for inserting a person'sarms. This allows the reader to support his arm while holding thereading material and simultaneously providing heat to them as well. Sucha device can be awkward and cumbersome and does not function without thecontinual commitment of the hands and arms in a stressful stationaryposition for long periods of time. There is also the further cost ofbatteries or the hassle of plugging in an electrical cord to run theblanket heater.

INVENTION SUMMARY

[0005] Provided is a versatile podium which includes a platform and apivotal material clamp for holding a book or literature firmly such thatreading can take place in nearly any position as well as lying on one'sbackside in the sleeping position. In this regard the article canembrace the literature firmly such that the user may read completelyhands free even in an upwardly position while lying in bed. Theinvention is useful in providing comfort and can even aid in the sleepprocess. Since reading can now be achieved while lying flat on theuser's backside, sleep can take place at any moment without any othermovement or adjustment of the body. Furthermore, bodily sleep on aperson's backside is medically considered the most optimal position forrelaxation of the body's joints, spine, muscles and nerves. With thisinvention problems in the art are finally solved. No longer need therebe the discomfort of supporting reading materials while lying down orsitting. Even warmth of the arms, hands and shoulders can be achievednaturally by simply lying in bed under the blankets. The solutionspresented here are for the delight of the common user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] The purpose and usefulness of this invention will become apparentupon reference to the following detailed description and accompanyingdrawings.

[0007] The following description will use reference numerals todesignate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein:

[0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the assembled podium;

[0009]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the collapsed podium with allaccompanying parts;

[0010]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a single adjustable length leg andis representative of every adjustable length rod on the podium;

[0011]FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the adjustable leg of FIG. 3 thatillustrates the inner design of all adjustable rods in the podium;

[0012]FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a typical book clamp internal springassembly;

[0013]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the closed assembly in FIG. 5 withthe nylon tension line and its accompanying adjustable support rods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The following description is intended to assist any manufactureror user in understanding the invention's structure and design in orderset forth the best modes contemplated by the inventor for carrying outthis invention to its highest potential. Other modifications to thisdesign will remain apparent to those skilled in the art, since thegeneric principles of this invention have been described hereinspecifically to provide a handy, lightweight versatile podium. As can beseen in FIG. 1, the assembled podium is comprised of four main parts: aplatform 16, a horizontal support bar 12, a leg 11 and a foot bar 9. Allthe parts of the podium are tubular rods 11, 12 with the exception ofthe flat panel 16 with clamp assembly 19 and projection assembly 14.They can be made out of numerous different materials such as plastic,aluminum or carbon fiber composites. Since the object of the presentinvention is intended to be lightweight the preferred embodiment usesmainly plastic such as ABS with the exception of the panel 16 and theclamp assembly 19 that require extra strength materials like aluminum.When assembled, the podium can stand over a bed or an easy chair sincethe foot 9 and foot stabilizers 21 form, as seen from above, a verystable “H” shaped construction that mates with the floor and leg 11. Thelength of the leg 11 can be easily adjusted to a convenient height bysimply sliding it in a telescoping manner. The pivotal retainer 13 andprojection assembly 14 that embrace the panel 16 can be rotated to anyconvenient reading angle by loosening the adjustment screws 15 andretightening them again in the preferred reading position. Furthermore,the pivotal retainer 13 and projection assembly 14 have the freedom torotate with the panel 16 to any angle within a 360 degree radius aroundthe horizontal support bar 12 to allow users the convenience of readingwhile lying on one's back side in bed. The spring-loaded material clampassembly 19 will firmly hold books or reading material in place in anychosen position. If used outdoors, the spring-loaded material clampassembly 19 holds papers securely for adequate wind protection. Allindividual components are fastened with hand locking adjustment screws15,18 and are simple to unscrew for easy disassembly or reassembly. Thecorner support stirrups 10 are the only components that use no screws orrivets since they are simply inserted into alignment holes locatedbetween the foot 9 and leg 11 and at the upper corner of the apparatusas shown in FIG. 1. Their purpose is to ensure stability in theassembled position. Portability is an important feature of this podium.As shown in FIG. 2, the parts of the podium are mainly composed oftubular rods sized for convenient disassembly and collapsed into a smallbundle for easy transit and storage. When disassembling the podium, thetwo comer stirrups 10 must be removed and the adjustment screws 15loosened before folding the podium. Once folded, it is advisable tocompress the leg 11 and the horizontal support bar 12 so that the overall length of the dissembled podium can be minimized for convenientstorage or placement in a carrying bag or vehicle for transport. Toaccomplish this one must remove the lock pin 8 and compressing thehorizontal support bar 12 in a telescoping manner. Finally the panel 16along with the attached material clamp assembly 19 may be storedseparately or positioned securely with the other parts. As can be seenin FIG. 2, the assembly and disassembly processes are simple operationssince the entire podium including the foot 9, leg 11, and the horizontalsupport bar 12 are never separated, but remain affixed in theirappropriate locations to prevent any mix-up or confusion among assembledcomponents. Assembly is simply the reverse process of the abovedescription. The collapsed podium is simply lifted by the top horizontalsupport bar 12 while the foot 9 is rotated to lie underneath the panel16 and parallel to the floor. Temporary physical support must beprovided in assembly to support the horizontal support bar 12 until thetwo comer stirrups 10 are reinserted and the foot stabilizers 21 arepositioned and tightened with wing nuts 22 as shown in FIG. 1. Once thepodium is self-supported the leg 11 and horizontal support bar 12 may beadjusted for the most convenient height and width. In order to set thewidth one must slide the horizontal support bar 12 in a telescopingmanner and then insert the locking pin 8 into the most convenient hole24. The final step in assembly is the tightening and adjusting of theprojection assembly screws 15 in order to position the panel 16 for themost comfortable reading position. In the assembled position, FIG. 1shows that the back edge of the panel 16 is attached to the pivotalretainer 13 and projection assembly 14 with two easy locking projectionassembly adjustment screws 15. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the materialclamp 19 slides tightly along support rails 17 which position the entirematerial clamp assembly 19 to lie just above the panel 16 whilesustaining adequate vertical separation between the panel 16 and theclamp assembly 19 to allow room for reading material. The leg 11 andhorizontal support bar 12 are made to telescope in or out to adjust thepodium's height or width as shown in FIG. 3 and the view is exploded inFIG. 4 to illustrate its internal extension limiting design. The leg 11is attached firmly at a right angle to the end of the horizontal supportbar 12 through a set of riveted metal tabs 23 and further secured withcorner support stirrup 10 as shown. The foot 9 is attached at a rightangle to the leg with metal tabs 23 and further supported with comersupport stirrup 10 to ensure stability. The leg 11 is not locked inposition but rather allowed to pivot about joint 7 at any time for extraversatility. When in use, the flat panel 16 is used to support a book byrotating the spring-loaded material clamp assembly 19 clockwise and thenlifting the book binding support wire 20 to allow enough clearance forits placement. Once in position, the front end of the binding supportwire 20 is pressed to snap and mate security with the front edge of thepanel 16 to support the book securely between its binding and the flatsurface of the panel 16. Once secured and the preferred page opened, thematerial clamp assembly 16 can be released and allowed to rotate counterclockwise until the material tension line 27 presses the pages of thebook tightly so that reading may take place in nearly any position. Whenturning pages the material clamp assembly 19 is simply rotated to allowaccess and then released to re-clamp the pages in the opened readingposition. When using flat or loose pages, the book binding support wire20 may be removed so that papers can be firmly held in place solely bythe material clamp assembly 19 and tension line 27. The assembledmaterial clamp assembly 19 shown in FIG. 6 is composed of a tension line27 tied at each end to adjustable fasteners 25 that lock perpendicularlyto the spring-loaded pivot rod 26 while maintaining adequate parallelseparation between the tension line 27 and the pivot rod 26. The tensionline 27 can be made from nylon or metal and must be thin to avoid anyvisual obstruction of words. The rest of the material clamp assembly 19should be made from a metal such as aluminum for rigidity and strength.FIG. 5 shows a typical internal design of the spring-loaded clampassembly 19.

What is claimed is:
 1. An easy to use versatile podium with a main purpose of supporting books and reading materials upside-down while lying in bed, wherein the podium can be easily assembled and disassembled, the podium comprising: a platform rectangular in shape providing a flat tray when assembled and having four side edges, a front, back and two side edges; two parallel vertical rails attaching a pivotally rotated string clamp positioned to lie just above and parallel to the platform; a lockable hand screw hinge attaching the platform to a second protruding rod attaching a second lockable hand screw hinge; a lockable retainer for sliding and pivotally retaining the entire platform and protruding hinge assembly; a collapsible horizontal shaft engaging with the retainer so that the disassembled podium can be assembled by sliding the top stand bar in a telescoping fashion parallel to the platform and perpendicular to the protruding hinge assembly; an adjustable stand supporting the entire projection hinge assembly and platform.
 2. The versatile podium of claim 1, wherein the retention means comprises a single projection from the retainer, the projection running perpendicular and attaching to the rear edge of the platform.
 3. The versatile podium of claim 2, where in the projection is comprised of three discontinuous members attached with a screw at their ends forming two hinge points.
 4. The versatile podium of claim 3, wherein the hinge points contain adjustable hand locking screws that lock the individual sections of the discontinuous projection along with the attached platform at its end.
 5. The versatile podium of claim 2, wherein the pivotal retainer is attached to the top horizontal stand bar oriented parallel to the platform and perpendicular to the projection hinge assembly.
 6. The versatile podium of claim 5, wherein the top stand bar is supported by a vertically adjustable leg fastened with riveted metal tabs and further supported by metal corner stirrups that slide into holes near the ends of the stand leg.
 7. The versatile podium of claim 6, wherein the leg adjusts in a telescoping fashion and is supported by a riveted foot and accompanying stabilizers.
 8. A versatile podium for supporting books or literature, wherein the podium can be easily assembled and disassembled, the podium comprising: a platform forming a flat tray when the podium is assembled and providing support for books or papers; two parallel vertically oriented rails attaching a spring-loaded string clamp located above the platform; an adjustable projection for attaching the platform to the pivotal retainer; a pivotal retainer for attaching the entire projection hinge assembly and platform to the stand.
 9. The versatile podium of claim 8, wherein the projection is attached and oriented perpendicularly to the center of the rear edge of the platform. 